


jamais vu

by smarky



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angst, Canon Continuation, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, this is probably gonna stay complete sorry guys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-10 18:26:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18665911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smarky/pseuds/smarky
Summary: Scorpia would follow Catra anywhere, if only she asked.Continuation from that cliffhanger at the end of season two.





	jamais vu

 

Scorpia knew something was wrong the moment she stepped into their room. 

 

Entrapta was sitting on the floor, tinkering away, not seeming to have noticed Scorpia was there. 

 

Scorpia had gotten a small chance to talk to Catra before she went off to meet with Lord Hordak. Catra had been so sure that Entrapta would be there with them in the sanctum. 

 

Yet here Entrapta was. 

 

Scorpia shook off the prickle of unease on the back of her neck. This was good. No Entrapta to distract Catra during her meeting. A focused Catra was the best Catra, and that was how she would be able to keep Lord Hordak in the dark about Shadow Weaver for just a little longer. 

 

All it took was a brief memory of how Catra had opened up to Scorpia to make her chest flutter with warmth. Or perhaps with tightness, with constriction, her excitement overwhelming her. Scorpia almost couldn’t believe she was being allowed to support Catra like this. Catra was finally starting to notice Scorpia cared, and she was letting Scorpia in, showing her vulnerabilities that no one else knew and letting herself take help. Together they would find Shadow Weaver, and quietly transport her to Beast Island, and Scorpia would find a way to send postcards, and-- 

 

“Not to be rude, but are you just going to keep standing there? If you’re looking for Catra, she’s already gone to visit Lord Hordak,” Entrapta said from behind her welding mask. 

 

“Oh no, I’m not looking for Catra. I’m just relaxing here with a, uh, friend,” replied Scorpia. “And, well. Waiting. For Catra.” She finished with a winning smile. Entrapta never saw it, because she was busy staring at the wires she was sluggishly connecting. Great. Well, that was fine, if Scorpia’s expression had been forced then Entrapta hadn’t noticed, and it wouldn’t accidentally get back to Lord Hordak. Would he even pick up on such a minute detail about her? Probably not. 

 

“Actually, I’ve been picking up an interesting reading from Hordak’s lab. He must have started experimenting again, let me go check.” Entrapta set down her tools with a loud clang. “Ooh, I’m excited.” 

 

That must have meant the meeting was already over. Lord Hordak never mixed his experimental work with his delegation to others. If it had been quick, then… Hordak must have just been annoyed at such a pointless, uneventful meeting and… called it off early. Right. Why did Scorpia have a feeling that was wrong? 

 

She watched Entrapta bounce out the door with a sinking feeling deep within her, like she was being sucked into the ocean by the arms of one of those vicious giant sea creatures, and she had no idea why. 

 

 

 

As much as it was something she had chosen for the majority of her life, Scorpia would never truly get used to the halls of the Fright Zone. She still had some memories of her old home in the Crimson Waste. Things had been quiet there. Scorpia hadn’t experienced explosions, crowds, or other loud occurences-- what little people there were carried on their lives in somewhat of a daze, as if to avoid upsetting the delicate balance of the sand. There was little routine in the Crimson Waste. That was because little happened. One simply existed. But here in the Fright Zone, everything was alive, and electric, and dangerous. And things were always violently changing, like the cleaving plates of Etheria’s crust. The longer Scorpia stayed there, the more she knew that to be true. 

 

At that moment Scorpia leaned against the wall outside of their room, watching her surroundings carefully. She wanted to spot Catra as soon as Catra returned from the meeting. Then they could debrief, and Scorpia could let her know what she had found while looking for Shadow Weaver. There were a trail of clues-- the spell circle residue, unexplainably shaken guards, doors that had been opened and never relocked. It would be difficult to find her, but it was doable. With Catra’s mind combined with Scorpia’s determination, anything was possible. 

 

A woman with long brown hair passed by, and Scorpia perked up, but it was another Force Captain, not Catra. That was hardly unusual. Scorpia saw Catra everywhere she went. But where was Shadow Weaver… Scorpia had to have some theories prepared for Catra when she arrived. Shadow Weaver had probably left the Fright Zone, that was for sure. She could be hiding out in some remote area, likely a place with good resources for magic. And if there was anything Scorpia knew about Shadow Weaver, it was that she was obsessed with Adora, to the cruel detriment of Catra. As risky as it was, Adora’s hideouts would be a good place to look. Ugh, Bright Moon. Scorpia would go there for Catra, but encountering princesses with magic in their own domain was never fun. 

 

A parade of soldiers began marching down the other side of the hall. They moved in close ranks, as if they were barricading something in between them. The Horde must have gained a new prisoner. Had Catra managed to recapture Shadow Weaver on her own? No, she wouldn’t have let someone else take her down to the prisons, and she certainly wouldn’t have had it done out in the open. It must have been someone else. 

 

The soldiers were approaching Scorpia now. She could finally get a clear look at the new prisoner. 

 

Wait. This was impossible.

 

The prisoner was Catra. And she wasn’t even bothering to keep up a brave face. 

 

Scorpia felt like she had been gutted. 

 

Why was this happening? Was Catra hurt? Was Hordak punishing her? 

 

Every instinct in Scorpia screamed at her to run towards Catra, to demand the soldiers tell her what they were doing, to rip Catra away from them and protect Catra with her own body. Scorpia jerked forward, her body vibrating with the need to move. But she held herself back. Scorpia knew that any action she might take at that moment was hopeless. There were too many bystanders, and no element of surprise. If she ran ahead now, they would probably just shoot her, and then she would be of no use to Catra.

 

Tears welled up in the back of Scorpia’s eyes. She ignored them. For now Scorpia just had to wait.

 

 

 

Scorpia climbed into the vents and began crawling towards the prison cells just before the guards’ shifts changed for the night. She was much too conspicuous to travel in the open, and although the vents were a tight fit, she knew exactly how to navigate them thanks to Entrapta. 

 

Scorpia stumbled out of the vent just in time, making a small noise of discomfort, and then inched across a couple of empty cells to reach Catra’s. The last meal of the day was finished, so unless something unpredictable happened, she assumed they should have the night alone. 

 

Catra was crumpled on the floor of the cell, completely still. Horror flooded inside Scorpia, rising higher and higher until she had to clasp her claws over her mouth to keep herself from sobbing and giving herself away to the guards. 

 

But then, finally, Catra turned her head slowly and blinked at Scorpia. 

 

“Here to torture me too?” said Catra. All of the irony had been drained out of her voice, leaving behind a deadpan husk. 

 

“No! Never! Why would I--” Scorpia’s words were emphatic, but muffled. 

 

Scorpia dropped her claws, and slumped to her knees in front of the barrier. She opened her mouth to speak further, and suddenly Catra had leaped to the edge of the barrier, hand in front of Scorpia’s mouth as if to silence her. For a moment Catra eyes looked tense, sharpened and alive, only to dim again into that flatness that Scorpia absolutely loathed. 

 

“Wait. If you have anything to say, keep it low,” whispered Catra. “Hordak could be listening. That’s why I’m here right now.” 

 

Listening… Oh god, it must have been that flying imp that Hordak kept around. Scorpia had completely forgotten about its talent for recording. 

 

“Got it. Are you okay? What happened? We need to get you out,” said Scorpia, as fierce as she could be while quiet. "I can’t believe you expected I wanted to hurt you, Scorpia thought. 

 

“It’s no use. I’m finished. Hordak’s sending me to Beast Island as soon as the sun rises.” 

 

“What? Why?” This was the worst nightmare that Scorpia had experienced, even beyond anything the Horde or the Princess Alliance had thrown at her. She hoped this was just a misunderstanding, and everything could go back to normal, but. Something told her that nothing would ever be the same again. “Is it because of… Shadow Weaver?”

 

“I lied to him about losing her. And then he played back our conversation. He almost suffocated me to death for it.” Catra buried her face in her knees. “I’m such a failure. You shouldn’t stick around me, just go away. None of this would be happening if I hadn’t confided in you.” 

 

Scorpia knew then and there that she was going to kill Hordak herself or die trying. Before she had been struggling not to explode of worry, but after hearing what Hordak had done a sort of calm settled over her, a sense of certainty that no matter what happened, she would know what to do. 

 

“You are not a failure. And we’re going to get out of this, together. You weren’t wrong for opening up to me, Catra, that was the only way the issue would get solved.” 

 

Catra scoffed. “I’m surprised you’re not worried he heard you conspiring with me. You’re not too special to avoid punishment.” 

 

“I would do it again in a heartbeat.” 

 

“Don’t you see? You’re in danger if you try to protect me again! Hordak isn’t like Adora, he won’t hold back!” Catra’s whisper was more like a hiss. “You’re not willing to die for me. Just get out.” 

 

“I’m not leaving you,” Scorpia said simply. God, she wanted to hug Catra.

 

“What?” Catra’s eyes were wide and shiny. “Yes you are. Leave. Have some self-preservation instincts for once.” 

 

“I made my choice and I’m sticking by it. Why can’t you accept that you are my priority?” 

 

“I’m your. No, that’s stupid. There must be another reason, you’re lying.” 

 

“I care about you Catra. I know that we’re connected, by some bond deeper than I can understand, and I refuse to break that.” 

 

Catra just stared at her. She probably thought Scorpia was delusional. 

 

“I know you have trouble accepting things like that, ever since, well, Adora left. But I promised to stay by your side and protect you, and I meant it.” 

 

Scorpia knew she must have sounded too dramatic to be sincere, but she meant what she said. Catra was different than all the other Horde soldiers. She had never treated Scorpia like a princess. 

 

“What do you even want, Scorpia? I’m imprisoned and about to be sent to Beast Island.” Catra wouldn’t meet Scorpia’s eyes. “We can have this heart to heart now, but you can’t protect me, and I can’t protect you. We have like six hours together.” 

 

It almost sounded like… Catra wanted to protect Scorpia, to have a future with her beyond this dark night in the cells, even though she thought it was impossible. If Scorpia hadn’t been motivated before, she did now. “I am going to protect you. Just wait for me, I will break you out and then we can go wherever you want.” 

 

“How? Have you thought out a plan?” Catra smiled sadly. “You know what, it doesn’t matter, it’s a suicide mission through and through. It was nice knowing you.” 

 

“I’ll prove you wrong, wildcat.” 

 

Scorpia thought she saw Catra’s mouth twitch at that. 

 

“I wish you the best of luck.” Catra’s face shifted back into a blank mask. 

 

Scorpia sighed. Well, she was glad that Catra had accepted her decision. Maybe it should have been harder for her to make. But she cared a lot about Catra, so much she had trouble describing it. Why wouldn't Scorpia choose her? 

 

Catra’s tail crept up to rest on the barrier, twitching and then slowly stilling again. Scorpia raised her claw to rest on the same spot. They stayed like that in silence for a while before Scorpia finally left to prepare.

 

**Author's Note:**

> kudos and comments super appreciated! and ofc come talk to me @axel-mania on tumblr 😎


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